Gas or gasolene engine.



No. 637,3!7. Patented Nov 2|, I899. s. w. ZENT.

GAS 0R GASOLENE ENGl NE.

(Application filed Feb. 8, 1899.)

' (No Model.)

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Ni'rED STATES SOHUYLER W. ZENT, OF MARION, OHIO.

GAS OR GASOLENE ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,317, dated November 21, 1899. Application filed February 8, 1899. Serial No. 704,929. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SOHUYLER W. ZENT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marion, in the county of Marion and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gas or Gasolene Engines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will en able others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in gas or gasolene engines, and more particularly to that class known as four-cycle, exploding at every other revolution; and the objects are to improve and simplify the construction and increase the efficiency of the engine.

To these ends the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of the several parts of the machine, as will be hereinafter more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the same reference characters indicate the same parts of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of an engine embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail view of the valve-operating cam.

1 denotes the base or frame, which is provided with the usual bearings for the crankshaft 2, and 3 denotes the jacketed cylinder fixed on the base and provided with the singlecylinder head 4, the lower end of the cylinder being open to receive the trunk-piston 5, from which the usual connecting-rod 6 extends to the crank-shaft. 7 denotes the valve-chest; 8, the inlet-port; 9, the exhaustport, and 10 a common port which is alternately used as an inlet and exhaust port.

24 denotes the cylinder inlet-Valve, the stem 25 of which is encompassed by a spring 26, the tension of which seats the valve, and the lower end of the stem terminates -in the notched block 27. 28 denotes the exhaustvalve, havinga similar spring-actuated stem 29, which projects into the path of the free end of a lever 30, fulcrumed in the base-frame. The lower face of said lever carries a frictionroller 31, which rests upon the periphery of the cam 32 32, formed with concentric slots 33 33 to receive the adj usting-screws 34 34, by

means of which it is adj ustably secured to the face of a gear-wheel 35, loosely mounted on a stud-bolt fixed in the frame. This gear-wheel 35 meshes with a pinion 36, fixed on the crankshaft, and the relative proportions of the pinion and gear-wheel are as one to two, two revolutions of the crank-shaft producing one revolution of the gear-wheel and cam.

37 denotes a bell-crank lever fulcrumed on a stud-bolt in the frame, and its vertical arm carries a friction-roller which projects into the path of the toe 32 on the cam, and its vertical arm carries the governor-lever 38, fulcrumed on the cross-pin 39.

4O 40 denote thumb-screws for adjusting the play of the governor-lever, the vertical arm 41 of which is arranged to coact with the valve-stem 25 to actuate the valve 24, and the horizontal arm 42 of said governor-lever is provided with an adjustable weight 43 and is also connected to an adj listing-screw 44 by the spiral spring 45, which means control the action of the inlet-valve 24.

The operation of the engine is as follows: Assuming that the engine is rotating in the direction of the arrow in the fiy-wheel, the cam will rotate in the opposite direction, as shown by the arrow on its face, and when its toe comes in contact with the roller 31 it raises the lever 30 and opens the exhaust-valve 28, which occurs after the crank has left its lower center, and the piston starts on its upward stroke, the exhaust-valve now permitting product of the exploded gases to escape from the cylinder. When the crank-shaft is on the top center and the piston starts on its downstroke, .the exhaust-valve is closed and the inlet-valve 24 is opened by the cam-toe coming in contact with the lever 37, raising the governor-lever 38, which opens the inlet-valve, as above stated, and the downward movement of the piston produces a vacuum above the piston, which opens the carbureter-valve, the suction causing an influx of mixed air and gas into the cylinder, and when the piston has arrived at the downward limit of its stroke the inlet-valve closes and the upward movement of the piston compresses the mixed air and gas in the cylinder, and after the piston arrives at the upward limit of its stroke and the crank has passed its top center the confined mixture is exploded (by any suitable means) and the piston impelled on its downward movement, and on its return movement or upstroke the cam-toe operates the lever 30 to unseat the exhaust-valve and permit the spent gases to escape into the atmosphere. Vhen the engine is running at the normal rate of speed, the tension of the spring 45 is so adjusted that the shorter arm of the governor-lever 3S rests upon the adjusting-screw and in this position the vertical arm 41 projects into the path of the notched block 27 on the lower end of the valve-stem 25, the adjusting-screw 40 being withdrawn a sufficient distance from the arm 42 to permit a rocking movement of the governor-lever on its fulcrum-point, so that when said arm 42 is resting on the set-screw 40 an d the governor-lever 3S lifted the vertical arm 41 will be thrown outward and clear of the block 27.

As hereinbefore stated, when the engine is running at its normal rate of speed each upward movement of the governor-lever 38 will cause its vertical arm to come in contact with the notched block 27, thereby raising the valve-stem 25 and lifting the valve 24 to admit a charge of gas and air to the cylinder; but if the speed increases the upward movement of the governor-lever is accelerated, which failing to overcome the inertia of the weight 43 the latter remains approximately stationary, the governorlever tilting on its fulcrum until the arm 42 rests on the setscrew 40, thus throwing the vertical arm 41 out of line with the notched block on the valve-stem during the upward movement of the governor-lever, and consequently without actuating the inlet-valve.

I have not shown or described an igniting means, as that feature forms no part of my invention and any approved device may be used for this purpose.

The practical simplicity of the inlet and exhaust valve gear will be apparent at a glance, as both are operated in an effective and reliable manner by the single cam 32.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention in the best form now known to me; but obvious modifications in the details may be practiced without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a gas or vapor engine, the combination with the inlet and exhaust valves and their stems, of the cam 32, the lever 30, having its free end projecting between said cam and the exhaust-valve stem, the bell-crank lever 37, having its vertical arm projecting into the path of said cam, and the governorlever 38, fulcrumed on the horizontal arm of said bell-crank lever and arranged to engage with the inlet-valve stem, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a gas or vapor engine, the combination with the inlet and exhaust Valves and their stems, of the cam 32, the lever 30, having its free end projecting between'said cam, and the end of the exhaust-valve stem, the bell-crank lever 37, having its vertical arm projecting into the path of said cam, the governor-lever 3S, fulcrumed on the horizontal arm of said bell-crank lever and arranged to intermittently engage the inlet-valve stem, a counterbalance-weight adjustably. mounted on said governor-lever, and the spiral spring 45 extending from said governor-lever to a fixed bracket 44, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

SOHUYLER W. ZENT.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. BARTRAM, GEo. D. COPELAND. 

